The Archdiocese of Cebu in the central Philippines has opened Catholic cemeteries to non-Catholics who succumbed to COVID-19.
Archbishop Jose Palma made the decision amidst the increasing number of deaths due to COVID-19 in the province and the difficulty to find vacant spaces for burial.
“I take it as an act of charity to allow their burial in our Roman Catholic cemeteries during these times of pandemic,” Archbishop Palma said in a circular dated August 27.
The archbishop said “only time will tell” as to when the special permission will be abrogated due to the “extreme” situation.
“Sadly, some of these severe cases have led to the untimely deaths of our loved ones and consequently, affecting the availability of burial slots in our cemeteries,” Archbishop Palma said.
“In order to be pastorally guided by this mandate, I suggest that proper consultations be made first with our competent ecclesiastical authorities when there are other issues and unforeseen circumstances that may arise on this matter,” he added.
On Thursday, the Philippines recorded a total of 16,621 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total active cases to 146,510.
According to the Department of Health, the active cases now comprise 7.3 percent of the 2,020,484 confirmed infections in the country.
The DOH recorded 10,965 new recoveries, raising to 1,840,294 the total number of patients who have recovered from the disease. However, another 148 deaths brought the death count to 33,680. – with a report from CBCP News
